The conversion factors presented in Tu..c 3.33 have, therefore, been calculated for the ex-

posed and for the shielded side of a ship.

A comparison of the destroyer conversion factors

determined for the two shots indicates that, although they are fairly constant, there can be

variations as large as 20 percent of the mean. The comparison is by no means as good for the
EC-2. These discrepancies (and possibly the abnormally high record for the bow station aboard
the DD-593) are probably due to local turbulence caused by the ship’s superstructure (Section

3.3.2).

Since a high reading was obtained at the bow station on the DD-593 on both shots and since

no fault can be found with the detector, the reading is considered valid.

Furthermore, this

GITR record agrees with the other weather deck records after passage of the base surge. As
previously suggested, eddies caused by the superstructure may temporarily retain remnants
of the base surge at specific locations. A plot of the difference between the bow station and

the other two stations aboard the DD-393 versus time (Figure 3.215) yields a record resembling
that characteristic of the particular shot. The integrated dose under these curves is 288 r for
Wahoo and 93 r for Umbrella. Similar eddy effects are postulated aboard all target ships (Sections 3.3.2 and 3.4.1). The temporary retention of surge in turbulent eddies surrounding the
ship’s superstructure would have highly variable effects and cannot be conclusively demonstrated
by the available data. A short retention at early time could result in a Significant additional
dose; however, the case of the bow station on the DD-593 appears extreme. Possibly, these
effects may be more pronounced after the base surge has slowed down to surface wind velocities
and at times when the surge transit dose is not masking. Although retardation and temporary
retention of the surge by the ship’s superstructure seems a reasonable explanation for the prolonged gamma records after upwind surge transit, the extension to the bow records for the
DD-593 is at best difficult, and no completely satisfactory explanation has yet been advanced.
Although the eddy hypothesis cannot be conclusively demonstrated, it does indicate possible
errors in the assumption that the cumulative dose received aboard a ship corresponds to that
which would be predicted on the basis of the ship’s position relative to the isodose contours
and superstructure shielding factors. With these reservations, the dose determined from the
isodese contours may be assumed to represent that received at an exposed position well away
from the superstructure on a stationary ship under full washdown. This dose may then be converted to other less exposed positions on the weather decks, using the conversion factors listed

in Table 3.33.

This type of conversion may, of course, be extended to inner compartments us-

ing the film pack data obtained by Project 2.1. It is impossible to estimate the true accuracy
of this procedure; therefore, these conversion factors must be used with caution. This statement is particularly true if this information is further extended to the case of moving ships.

3.5

CHARACTERISTICS OF AIRBORNE RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL

Since the chemical and physical parameters of base surge are indirectly associated with the
principal objectives of this project, only a brief summary of the Hardtack results is given here.
The two subjects covered in detail are (1) fractionation and (2) base surge collection aboard the
DD-592. Fractionation of radionuclides deposited on coracle surfaces becomes important when

determining the maximum possible contribution to the free-field dose from such sources.

The

special collections aboard the DD-592 give some indication of the amount of water accompanying

deposition at distances of approximately 3,000 feet from surface zero.

This region is beyond

the maximum throwout radius for both shots and yet stil] appears to be within a zone of heavy

water deposition (Section 3.3.1).

This water probably contains significant amounts of either

dissolved or entrained fission products, but, according to the GITR records at these locations,
most of this radioactive material was rapidly washed from coracie and ship surfaces. Deposition from the base surge at greater distances is very light and does not appear to be accompa-

nied by such large amounts of water.

—

More detailed reports of the results obtained from the Hardtack samples may be found in

the following reports: radiochemical analysis and fractionation (References 105 and 106);
318

Select target paragraph3